Center for Financial Advancement

A Solution to the Mortgage Industry's Diversity Challenge

The face of the typical homebuyer is changing. People of color will account for four of five of the newly created households over the next decade. The mortgage finance industry will be particularly challenged by this sea-change in demographics. To keep pace, mortgage lenders must attract and retain young, skilled, and diverse talent.

"Diversity is critical to the future success of the mortgage industry. Not only does it strengthen our companies, but it helps us to reach out to an increasingly diverse customer base." Jeffrey Schummer, VP Education Business Development, Mortgage Bankers Association

The Center for Financial Advancement ™ (CFA) program helps the industry to address this critical need. HomeFree-USA partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to train, recruit and place students in internships and new full-time positions at sponsoring mortgage industry organizations. The students, CFA Scholars, are taught credit and money management skills. They also learn the value of homeownership and are exposed to the mortgage industry as a lucrative career choice.

The Center for Financial Advancement movement was launched on the heels of a recent study that says although more African-Americans than ever are going to college, Black students are still overrepresented in majors that result in the lowest paying jobs. Learn more...

How Are Black Colleges Doing? Better Than You Think, Study Finds

Two researchers’ new study of degree attainment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities versus predominantly white institutions, also known, in the study, as PWIs, found that the chances of graduating in six years for black students are significantly higher at the black colleges, when controlling for key variables.